Hiroshima Carp ace Kenta Maeda arrived in Los Angeles on Monday night, likely to meet with agent Adam Katz. Maeda was posted December 10th and will have until 5:00 pm ET on January 8th to sign a contract through the new MLB posting system. Put simply, Maeda will be allowed to negotiate a contract with any team that is willing to post the $20 million posting fee. If Maeda is unable to sign a contract by the deadline he will return to Japan to play for the Carp next season.
Although he is not as highly regarded as current MLB pitchers Masahiro Tanaka or Yu Darvish, the 27-year-old RHP won his second Sawamura Award as Japan’s most impressive starting pitcher last season, and will likely be a top target for many MLB teams.